Uranus goes direct at 28 Aries 36, just past perfection but still within orb to a sesquiquadrate to Jupiter and semi-sextile to Chiron. This may be like waking up mid-step, or mid-action, or mid-choice, with our beliefs about the situation (especially about our own capacities, a la Aries) suddenly awakened to how we are hurt, what hurts we’re causing, and what skills we can bring to bear. May be an ‘ouch!’ moment, or one of exquisite sensitivity, the kind we usually bury as it’s just too potent to carry in consciousness. Whatever you experience, take it for the (shocking, electrifying, revolutionary) revelation that it is, and resolve to remember it, and to let it inform your Beingness going forward.

We also see Mars contra-parallel Juno, Mercury semi-square Black Moon Lilith and Vesta, which are together, and the Sun parallel Saturn. These influences firmly fix consciousness in reality–and it may seem much realer, if you’ll pardon the saying, than it usually does; no blurry filters, no shelter from issues we want to deny or ignore, and a particular focus on what we’re doing that may be contributing to our own disempowerment. The motto today should be, ‘Pay Attention’–and then don’t bury or discard what you learn–that’s the most important part.

The social order or opportunities themselves spell trouble for those who hold authority or responsibility (Jupiter sq Ceres), those powered by ego or aggression or sheer Will find themselves at a point of reckoning (Mars sq Nodal axis), and relationships and/ or finances are fired in the crucible of instinct and the effects of the ‘blind spot’ on choices and commitments (Venus sesq Sedna)–and all of it, along with the Uranus Direction in Aries, spells, if not outright revolution, then a riotous response by the individual to the world at large.

But as always, we need to focus our attention on what’s working, what can help us handle the pressure and potential disorientation delivered by the above aspects. Our assets include the ability to formulate clear plans and receive sharp insight related to our goals (Mercury sxt Zeus) and we muster the imagination, creative ability, and spiritual understanding to handle what comes (Sun sxt Neptune). All in all, a disruptive and even exciting set of influences that we are more than up to handling, as long as we keep our heads and refuse to succumb to Self-imposed confusion or fear.

Another word about the Uranus Direction: Vesta sits quincunx the planet upon direction, so that if you have a natal placement at 23-26 Virgo, the direction promises to provide a turnaround, an answer, a revelation to a question or conundrum concerning commitments and values framed through their interaction with the natal energy.

Everybody can expect a little chaos, especially of the reactive or emotional variety; though the revolution seems to be enacted without, it’s a true indicator of upheaval and changes within.

Today’s word image is: a hair stylist who creates a hair dye that changes color repeatedly after application. Fun, right? As a message, it suggests the ‘coloring’ of thoughts in some way that continues to change. Have we adopted beliefs or mental stances that, out of necessity or even fickleness, keep morphing? Does that make them more useful, or is the adoption of such thinking an add-on, that is, not natural to you? And was this mode of thinking possibly originally adopted out of rebellion, an urge to be seen as unique? If so, do you need such externals anymore just to prove your individuality to yourself? Or do you simply enjoy playing with your image?

The AstroEssence: What does it mean that Uranus goes direct during a Mercury retrograde? Possibly that the higher reasoning and intellect go into overdrive, but find the concepts and information are un-relatable, either because one can’t seem to find the right words, or because the ideas themselves remain indistinct. Communication, then, becomes difficult, and it may appear each individual doesn’t know her or his own mind–but that’s not so, it’s just a problem translating that electric impulse of pure knowledge into a language that can be understood. The Arts offer a great way to funnel this higher mind material, and as well offer a way to link instincts with those matters too long ignored or denied–they need to be worked out, and music or dance or the visual arts, any venue that employs one’s artistic impulse, even untraditional ones, provide a perfect outlet–but take care that relationships or financial situations don’t become venues for working out the neglected–that likely only results in upset. It’s a really good time for inventors and those looking for a unique approach, as new and startling concepts and work-arounds occur to us, and we take a kind of ruthless view of what we care about, both as a housecleaning measure and one that offers to make the changes we seek. The best approach overall might be to be gentle with ourselves and others, in order to avoid a too radical purging, and to keep from doing what we can’t take back (Uranus goes direct, Pluto contra-parallel Vesta, T-square Venus as arm to a Black Moon Lilith-Sedna opp)

Today’s word image is two tickets to the theater. A theater experience is a companionable one; we typically go with others, in order to have even more individuals act out a story, to entertain us. Are you part of the audience, or are you an act-er? Each has its place–right now there’s a need to either appreciate what you’re being presented with, or to act out what you truly want to present to others.

For those born with the Sun at 8 Capricorn: It’s the dawning of a new emotional era for you, one that will change the way you think–and that change is driven not just by a new viewpoint, but by the inclusion of new information and ‘facts’ you weren’t previously aware of. This is good overall, but may disturb the equilibrium of your life in the moment. Be aware: new agreements lead to new situations–and these may or may not fit with what already is. You’re actually on the way, this Solar year through to your next birthday, to making a dream come true–so careful progress that acknowledges what has changed, and what’s still solid, is vital to success. Good luck, Cappy, and Happy Birthday!

We have a three day period when our thoughts may quite literally create our reality, with the results manifesting in slightly different ways each day. On the 22nd we see the mind and our internal wisdom meld in such a way that, if we think about something, we are unlikely to choose poorly (on the other hand, if we refuse to think an issue through, we could choose very poorly). The way to express our power and authority comes directly from those methods we’ve observed in the past (as when we saw how authorities or those in power conducted themselves); what we’ve observed as effective behavior in others becomes our guide to choosing our own expressions. That has all the pitfalls you might expect, though we should know that what we’ve done is intellectualize the power behaviors of others (Ceres in Aquarius)–that tells us that if we can register the feelings those behaviors created, or if we can understand the attitudes behind the choices we saw others in charge make, we can gain enough mental distance to modify the choices those lessons offered so that they suit the person we are now (Ceres novile SN, Merc conj Pallas)

By the 23rd we may find we’ve formulated the perfect combination of rebellion from those in authority and a means of aligning thoughts with the status quo so that our originality is fostered even as we find our ‘place’ in the current order. The biggest issue may still be getting our ideas of who we are to mesh with the ways in which we want to express our power and affect the world; this time, shaking up the power picture as it now stands, or surprising authority figures or those who assume they’re in charge, is the way to unblock anything stuck, specifically because that kind of activity shows us how marginal and Self-imposed most boundaries really are (Uranus sxt Ceres, Merc novile Saturn, Sun semi-sq Ceres)

On the 24th we may find that we must adjust actions more in the direction of instinct and farther away from a reactionary standpoint that allows ‘blind spot’ material too much influence. That’s tricky at this point, as our thoughts are (still!) focused on attaining and expressing power, and we could see things in a light that paints us as having proprietary rights in areas not our own, including trying to dictate conditions for others. This is a distorted but perfectly logical outgrowth from that state of pure intellectual wisdom we enjoyed two days ago; it persuaded us that the mind has all the answers, and the reality is, at least in raw physical situations, it does. The true key to dealing with things successfully today is to accept relationship and financial realities as they truly are, warts and all. As long as you can see these matters in a wholistic light, and remember that light and darkness need each other in order to be complete, you won’t just gain in the Love and Money departments, but will find those areas can expand in ways you didn’t expect, almost all of them positive (certainly, all of them enlightening). ‘I want to Believe’ should be our motto, as the application of Faith to those things we find most precious will elevate what goes on today from good to much much better than anything planned or anticipated (Mars qnx Sedna, Venus sxt Jupiter and novile Black Moon Lilith, Merc parallel Ceres)

Uranus has reached the degree and minute (16 Aries 33) where he’ll linger until direction evening of the 25th Pacific time. If you have placements within 3 degrees either side of this in the Cardinals, it probably feels like a weight on you involving the natal energy, a sense of uncertainty, a fear of surprise or shock, an intellectual heaviness from which you fear you’ll never be released–but you will. Give it a few days past the direction before declaring yourself out of alternatives; that’s a Uranian specialty, and by the 28th you’ll likely have come up with one or more exciting options involving what seems irredeemably stuck now.